featherlight ecolodge manual

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FEATHERLIGHT ECOLODGE MANUAL

EGYPT

F E AT H E R L I G H T E C O L O D G E M A N U A L

featherlightTravel Egypt on a light footprint

Private Sector Development ProgrammeThe Egyptian-German Private Sector Development Programme (PSDP) was established in 2005. It is a bilateral technical cooperation programme under the guidance of the Egyptian Ministry for Industry and Foreign Trade (MoIFT) with Technical Assistance provided by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The programme focuses on private sector enterprises as its main cooper-ation partners. The PSDP aims at enhancing their competitiveness through promoting innovations as well as resource efficiency oriented Business De-velopment Services (BDS), which can result in new or improved products or production processes. Pursuing a multi-level approach the PSDP additional-ly promotes the inclusion of strategies for green industrial policies and green growth in the discussions on the relevant framework conditions in Egypt.

Responsible and Inclusive Business Hub MENARIBH MENA is the GIZ responsible and inclusivebusiness hub based in Downtown, Cairo. It powers a paradigm shift to-wards sustainable development in the Middle East and North Africa. As its sister hubs in other world regions, RIBH MENA provides information on and raises awareness about Corporate Social Responsibility and Inclu-sive Business. Beyond this we assist the private sector with skills and busi-ness model development as well as networking support around CSR and IB. RIBH MENA is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

FEATHERLIGHT ECOLODGE MANUAL IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Responsible & Inclusive Business HubMENA

CONTENTS PAGE

INTRODUCTION 8

1. GREEN CONSTRUCTION 12

2. ENERGY 20 3. FOOD AND SOURCING 26

4. LABOUR 34

5. ENGAGE LOCAL COMMUNITIES 38

6. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT 44

7. WATER 54

8. NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION 66

INTERVIEW WITH DESERT LODGE 72

INTERVIEW WITH HABIBA LODGE FARM 78


The last years have seen a dramatic decrease in tourists coming to Egypt, due to security concerns. But while this obviously is a significant challenge to the Egyptian tourism sector, one should not overlook more cheerful and encouraging trends – one of them being the movement to “go green” and to look for alternatives to mainstream beach tourism along the coastline. These trends bear the chance to develop a more sustainable, more re-warding tourism sector for both national and international tourists as well as the hosting communities. They take into account that travel entails ef-fective learning and widening of one’s horizon, that tourism should contrib-ute to the conservation of natural eco-systems rather than to its destruc-tion and that tourism can be a major economic opportunity for many, if set up in a responsible manner. The Featherlight Team believes that ecolodges, which have been (and continue to be) established all over Egypt, can play a pivotal role in ensuring this. They can benefit from and are responsible for delivering on what the name actually “Ecolodge” entails.

To engage lodges in doing so, we developed the Featherlight Ecolodge Manual. It aims at supporting already operating lodge owners or those “to be” in keeping the negative impact of tourism on the environment low and increase positive impacts for local communities. This is done by giving hands on tips and contacts for reducing waste production, regulating water and energy usage, minimizing human impact on natural ecosystems and preserving local cultural and historic heritage.

WHY A FEATHERLIGHT MANUAL FOR ECOLODGES IN EGYPT?

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This manual is part of the Featherlight series, in which we also developed the Featherlight Tourism Guide Book for all the environmentally concerned tourists, to inspire them to travel on a light footprint and truly experience Egypt. With these two guidebooks the Featherlight Team wants to shed light on a more environmentally friendly, socially inclusive, and economically beneficial way of travelling Egypt.

In Egypt, previous green tourism standards and incentives have mainly tar-geted larger scale tourism (e.g. the Green Star Hotel Initiative, supported by the Ministry of Tourism and GIZ). This handbook, however, puts a spe-cial focus on smaller ecolodges in the Egyptian context with around 20-25 units, smaller budgets and more informal planning structures. It is not the aim of this handbook to be exhaustive, but to help guide and inspire lodges towards a better practice. It focuses on easy-to-implement, affordable (or even profitable) solutions. Implementing some of them will not necessarily make a lodge a perfectly sustainable one, but help building/ developing the ecotourism idea in Egypt.

This handbook pinpoints 8 themes. By elaborating a selection of possible ac-tions and best-practice examples in more detail, topics are customized to suit the Egyptian context of small to medium size lodges. Where relevant, supplier names and links are provided with a cost / benefit indication. The themes cov-er a wide range: from (green) construction to waste management.


LOW COST OR COST-FREE, NO-REGRET SOLUTION

LOW INITIAL COST

HIGH INITIAL COST, LONG-TERM SOLUTION

SAVING POTENTIALS THROUGH RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

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COST/BENEFIT INDICATION:


1. GREEN CONSTRUCTION

SITE ALLOCATION AND PLANNING Ecolodges are primarily context-sensitive and thus the process of initially choosing an appropriate location is a crucial step to facilitate a responsive, participatory experience within existing natural and cultural settings. In or-der to simulate the expected potentials and challenges of possible sites, environmental and social impact assessments should be conducted during the planning phase before construction actually starts.

Several aspects you should consider while allocating your ecolodge:Environmental ContextNecessitating the goal of environmental protection and maintaining scenic amenities. Prioritize potential sites which help protect neighboring nature areas and ensure that endangered wildlife is not displaced nor reproduc-tive habitat is destroyed.

Social and Cultural ContextAvoid not only intervening in archaeological, cultural heritage and sacred sites, but also be sure to respect existing village structures.

LegislationCorrelate expected activities with local plans and zoning includes required legal licenses and permits. In addition, a documentation of agreements by local communities and indigenous owners might be necessary.

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AccessibilitySurveying possible means to access the proposed site by existing roads and/or water if applicable. In addition, studying access to neighboring local enter-prises and markets to enable business realtions with the local communities.

Consultants and SuppliersDar Al-Handasa Consulting (Shair & Partners) http://www.dargroup.com/Integrated Development Consultants (IDC)http://www.idcegypt.com/default.aspxInternational Center for Research and Consultation - Combibassal (ICRC)http://www.comibassal.com/Environmental & Water Engineering Consultants (EWATEC) http://www.ewatec-eg.com/ Environics Management of Environmental Systems (Environics)http://www.environics.org/services.html Kayan Community [email protected] Aguizy Architecture http://www.elagizyarchitecture.com/

SYNERGIZING LANDSCAPE FEATURESPlan to integrate your ecolodge with existing landscape features. Invest in natural resources while responding to their scarcity, e.g. for most locations

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in Egypt water scarcity is a limitation which could be alleviated by applying a water sensitive urban design approach. Landscape is an active, dynamic asset that should be utilized, for instance: • Open channels can be integrated in the landscape design to collect

rain water and possibly grey water to irrigate the organic garden while improving the microclimate

• Use the natural topography to avoid the use of pumps where possible• The ecolodge layout should benefit from environmental buffers and

prevailing winds to provide thermal comfort and avoid dust.• Plant edible and decorative plants including herbs for the kitchen. As a

Bedouin saying goes: Never plant a tree without fruits!• Use plants to shade, maintain visual connectivity, to form visual barri-

ers, or as a landmark. The kind of trees you plant should be fast-grow-ing and cut in a way that encourages it’s shading capacity

• Use the landscape design to reduce natural hazards for example to resist desertification

Consultants and SuppliersEHAF Consulting Engineershttp://www.ehaf.com/Energy Efficient Urban Planning Guidelines MENA Regionhttp://www.med-enec.eu/downloads


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BUILDING MATERIALS Older, existing buildings in the region are usually a convenient reference regarding construction systems and materials where most of the applied construction materials are available regionally or on site avoiding transpor-tation expenses and energy consumption. The use of the local materials such as sand, wood, or clay provides an opportunity to blend with the nat-ural environment’s earth tones.In general, green materials with a low environmental impact in terms of extraction and processing are preferable, e.g. using certified wood and minimizing materials that consume big amounts of energy such as steel or aluminum. Recyclable materials should also be considered as a main source for construction, to offer future re-use and recycling. Bamboo, but also palm trees and straw are natural materials suitable for constructional use and are also renewable materials with rapid growth rates. Natural, local stones are a green building material. In other words, life cycle assessment for all construction materials is highly recommended to minimize construc-tion and installation waste and to provide healthy interior environments.

Consultants and SuppliersEgyptian Earth Construction Association (EECA) https://www.facebook.com/EECAtrainingunithttp://www.cuipcairo.org/en/directory/eeca-egyptian-earth-construc-tion-association

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Engineering Center for Archaeology & Environment (ECAE)http://dnn.eng.cu.edu.eg/CUFE/ResearchCenters/EngineeringCenter-forArchaeologyandEnvironment/tabid/120/language/en-US/Default.aspxHabiba Organic Farm conducts trainings on building with strawhttp://www.habibaorganicfarm.com/

TOUCH THE EARTH LIGHTLY Reduce the sealing of surfaces and limit the use of concrete for founda-tions. Light-weight construction, such as building on stilts, floating houses, tents, etc. may offer architectural solutions that reduce the building foot-print. If existing ground surfaces are not sufficient for sometimes unavoid-able roads, use gravel instead of asphalt to ensure permeability.

Reducing the environmental impact of building implies several limitations, such as:• Using labor-intensive construction techniques rather than heavy ma-

chinery • Avoid to disturb existing eco-systems, e.g. by blocking rain water

streams• Minimizing the footprint of buildings and using shallow foundations and

light-weight construction where possible, e.g. mobile structures offer-ing flexibility of assembling and disassembling

• Agricultural land conservation: avoid building on fertile land

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• Consider the solar envelope of the planned buildings to avoid shading existing vegetation

EXTERNAL FINISHING / OUTDOOR QUALITY The hot, arid climate and clear sky in Egypt implies high solar radiation throughout the year. Thus materials with a high solar reflectance finishing such as a white paint coat, if the material is not of a light colour already, are best used for external walls. On the other hand land-cover with low reflec-tance is recommended for flooring on adjacent outdoor areas. In addition, shading outdoor open spaces is necessary to avoid direct ex-posure to solar radiation and can be provided by planting native trees for landscaping which offer a wide range of shading alternatives. Many lodges create shading areas with old trees and palm leaves.

GREEN ROOFS In the Egyptian context, roofs are usually abundant spaces used only for storage, and can be considered and untapped potential to install produc-tive green roofs. Green roofs provide shade and remove heat from the air by reducing temperatures of the roof surface and the surrounding air. This reduction helps to minimize interior cooling energy demands in the summer. In addition, productive green roofs (refer to 3. Hydroponics) could provide other benefits such as:• Aesthetic value

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• Increasing biodiversity• Medical, ornamental or even edible food could be produced• As an economic incentive

Consultants and SuppliersSchaduf Urban Microfarms www.schaduf.com Green Zone Egypt https://www.facebook.com/greenzoneegyptHelp in building kitchen gardens - Nafas School of Agro-culinary Arts and Sciences https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nafas-School-of-Agro-culinary-Arts-and-Sciences/1521772158059838?fref=ts

INTERNAL FINISHING / INDOOR QUALITY Factors to be considered in the planning process that can actually be mea-sured are: Daylight, thermal comfort, natural ventilation, material emission where of course low emissive materials should be favoured, filtering of out-door pollutantsFactors that rather rely on a qualitative assessment are for example: a view, privacy, the spatial program, the cultural setting of internal spaces, colors and textures, a sense of intimacy, etc.

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OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE Ecolodges should not only be constructed with a sound environmental strate-gy, but also operated and maintained responsibly. Thus, planning ahead during the planning and building process includes chosing an appropriate construction system and materials, finishings and also furnishing that are easy to maintain.

SHADING Shading devices such as simple louver systems are preferably installed on the outer skin of the building to control solar radiation. The pattern of the shading device can vary according to the orientation of the façade. In ad-dition, materials used for these shading devices are necessarily weather resistant and light-weight. They are usually adjustable, yet fixed ones are also effective.

COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL AND/OR RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL RATING SYSTEMS FOR GREEN CONSTRUCTION Consult professionals during the planning process of your ecolodge that are experienced in the application of national rating systems. These criteria can be considered as a professional guide for green construction. For example:Green Pyramid Rating System (GPRS) http://www.egypt-gbc.gov.eg/ratings/index.html or relevant systems addressing hot climates such as: Estidama (UAE) & GSAS & QSAS (Gulf & Qatar). http://estidama.upc.gov.ae/estidama-and-pearl-rating-system.aspx-?lang=en-US

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2. ENERGY

PROMOTE USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCESSome lodges have made it their concept to operate almost completely without electricity as part fo the experience. Producing their own and/or limiting the use to certain hours of the day. Consider how to sustain your ecolodge off-grid by using decentralized technologies. This consideration raises several challenges that can easily be resolved using renewable en-ergy resources. Market your ecolodge to the industrial sector as a potential prototype for local communities to produce and apply clean energy. Sever-al forms of energy production techniques such as solar photovoltaic panels, geothermal, biogas, and even wind turbines can be applied depending on the location, size and of course economic means of the project.

So far, PV panels installed on roof tops are the most applicable energy source and are currently being promoted by governmental programs and initiatives. The Desert Lodge at Dakhla Oasis produces almost half of its demand and has recently connected its panels to the grid. Their plan is to completely cover consumption rates and sell the excess amount to the government to generate revenue. See www.desertlodge.net

Consultants and SuppliersEgyptian Solar Energy Systems Company (ESESC)http://egyptsolar.net/IMF Grouphttp://www.imfgroupegypt.com/

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Solaris http://www.solaris-eg.com/about_us.htmTaqamisrhttp://www.taqamisr.com/Renewable Systems Decentralized (RSD)Solar Energy Development Association www.seda-eg.comBiogas Peoplehttps://ar-ar.facebook.com/BiogasPeoplehttp://www.skgsangha.org/

WATER HEATINGPerennially clear skies in Egypt offer a great potential to use solar water heaters which are currently being designed, manufactured and installed by several local companies. They can also be also very cheap. Icecairo has developed a low cost DIY Solar Water Heater that can be purchased or put together for less than 100 dollars.

Consultants and SuppliersSolar Energy Development Associationwww.seda-eg.comicecairo http://icecairo.com/

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LIGHT Maximizing daylight is to be considered during the initial design process. By orientating internal spaces according to their planned activity, e.g. reading is to be accommodated within spaces oriented north to benefit the indi-rect daylight and avoid glare the natural conditions can provide needed qualities. Standardized daylight indices are useful in specifying the minimal required amount of indoor light in relevance to each specific activity.

In the absence of daylight, promote the use of non-electric light sources such as candles or solar lamps and, if electrical light is needed, use LED and energy saving lamps.

Consultants and SuppliersGreen Zone Egypt http://www.greenzone-eg.com

NATURAL OR MIXED-MODE VENTILATION Passive architectural principles can facilitate natural ventilation such as wind catchers (malqafs) and the exhaustion of warm air via central, high-ceiling rooms and solar chimneys need to be planned at the initial design phase in accordance to the prevailing wind direction.A good example for this is the Kom El Dikka Lodge. Mechanical fans can be used where necessary, whereas air-conditioning units should be avoided as much as possible. Pre-

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2. ENERGY

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vailing winds should also be considered for the layout of the rooms. To avoid odor, kitchens and bathrooms should be placed on the southern side away from prevailing winds coming from the north.

Consultants and SuppliersEl Agizya architects (a similar ventilation system was built by them in the Kom El Dikka Lodge in Ezbet Tunis)http://www.elagizyarchitecture.com/

APPLIANCES, OFFICE DEVICES AND ELECTRONICSCheck energy labels of appliances with low-energy consumption and low green-house gas emissions. Such devices might have slightly higher prices; however, in the long-run these are compensated through energy savings.

Select energy-efficient office equipment, keep it turned off and unplugged when not in use. Encourage staff and visitors to work on low-power mode to save energy, run cooler and even last longer.

GUESTS’ AWARENESS MANUAL FOR EFFICIENT USE OF ENERGY Provide guests with information about your energy saving measures and let them take part e.g. time restrictions of use by guests, such as no elec-tricity from 11 PM until the next evening, internet access limited to certain hours, and simple instructions to switch light off whenever not required,

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etc. Limitations of availability are fully acceptable if they are communicated clearly, so make sure to translate instructions into comprehensive illustra-tions and info-graphics.

INSULATION The rate of heat transfer from outdoor to indoor spaces is measured by the so-called “U-value” where lower values indicate better insulation. The external walls’ thickness and the type of material used are the two main variables which affect thermal insulation efficiency. This also applies for roofs. Local, natural construction materials are usually the most convenient in-sulators in terms of price and applicability. Building thick walls (50 cm as found in the Nubian houses of Upper Egypt) using mud is typically used in hot climates providing high-efficiency insulation rates and can reach ap-proximately 10° C difference in temperature between indoor and outdoor air temperatures. Air tightness is also an effective variable to control indoor air temperatures, thus -if applicable- minimize air leaks and cracks at doors and windows to achieve thermal comfort.

Consultants and SuppliersCMB Egypthttp://www.cmbegypt.com/en/index.php

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Insumathttp://www.insumat.com/Rockalhttp://www.rockal.org/aboutus.aspEgyptian Earth Construction Association (EECA) http://www.cuipcairo.org/en/directory/eeca-egyptian-earth-construc-tion-associationWaffarly (offers windows sealing window strips or home isolation bags) http://www.waffar.ly/

LAUNDRY The laundry facility should be regulated by policies which are directly com-municated to both staff members and visitors, e.g. policies regarding towel placement to be washed or not. In addition, staff member involved should be conscious to minimize the use of hot water and detergent and rely on air-drying instead of electric dryers.

For example, at the Desert Lodge at Dakhla Oasis “red towels” are offered to be used after swimming in their natural pool which includes minerals leaving reddish stains on lighter coloured towels. The offered “red towels” are meant to reduce washing, and relevant information is communicated to visitors in clear graphics before using the pool.

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3. FOOD & SOURCING

PRIORITIZE LOCAL IN-SEASON ORGANIC FOOD Source locally and at best local cuisine. Local, sustainably produced farm fruits and vegetables are often fresher, as they do not require long dis-tances for transport, and thus can be harvested closer to peak ripeness and for a better price. Many fruits and vegetables contain more nutrients when allowed to ripen naturally on the parent plant. (see fig. on the right for seasonal crops in Egypt).

Consultants and SuppliersHabiba Communityhttp://www.habibaorganicfarm.com/ Sekem http://www.sekem.com/Egyptian Center for Organic Agriculture (ECOA); certification and Registrationhttp://www.ecoa.com.eg/Mabrouk Egypt http://www.mabroukegypt.com/en/main.phpNawayahttp://nawayaegypt.org/Nawaya_Egypt/Nawaya.htmlNafas – School of Agro-culinary Arts and Sciences https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nafas-School-of-Agro-culinary-Arts-and-Sciences/1521772158059838?fref=ts Baladini Noodleshttp://baladini.org/Slow Food Cairohttp://www.facebook.com/SlowFoodCairo

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Source: GIZ


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3. FOOD & SOURCING

PROMOTE VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN CUISINE Ideally an ecolodge offers local foods which favor vegetarian and maybe vegan dishes. The Egyptian cuisine offers a great variety of such meals and thus developing an authentic Egyptian menu is highly recommended.

Consultants and SuppliersNafas – School of Agro-culinary Arts and Sciences https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nafas-School-of-Agro-culinary-Arts-and-Sciences/1521772158059838?fref=ts Egyptian Chefs Association http://www.egyptchefs.com/

MINIMIZE FOOD STOCK/WASTE Monitor what is actually consumed and thrown away on a regular basis. This is crucial to plan efficiently for food purchasing in accordance to the offered menu and the number of visitors. Consider priorities of expiry dates and perishables, in addition to proper storage. Especially for smaller lodges offering only one set menu instead of different options can be a measure to minimize food waste, simplify kitchen operations and give guests a com-munity experience when taking e.g. their dinner jointly.

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MAKE AND GROW YOUR OWN Set up a vegetable garden and plant fruit and nut trees. Similarly bake your own bread, make your own drinks, marmalades, pickled vegetables, etc.

Sharing the traditional cuisine offers a good chance for a socio-cultural interaction between your guests and local community members.Work from home in this context offers economic incentives especially for women and preserves cultural traditions. These products can also be sold as take-aways. For example, Kom El Dikka offers the service of picking your own vegetables and salads, which will then be cooked for you. A garden could be started with limited resources if land and water are available.

Consultants and SuppliersEarth Keepers https://www.facebook.com/pages/Earth-Keepers/143652442479154Nawayahttp://nawayaegypt.org/Nawaya_Egypt/Nawaya.htmlNafas – School of Agro-culinary Arts and Sciences https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nafas-School-of-Agro-culinary-Arts-and-Sciences/1521772158059838?fref=ts

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HYDROPONICS (SOIL-LESS AGRICULTURE) Hydroponic farming practices are already being applied in Egypt and prove to provide social, economic and environmental benefits. Rooftop farming also improves the thermal insulation of buildings and reduces their foot-print while offering home-based jobs for women.

Cultivating your own food with hydroponic systems as a soil-less technique minimizes the retrofits required for green roofs such as extra water-proof-ing and deep planters. Instead, wooden tables or affordable plastic water tubes are used. Hydroponics also uses much less irrigation water than con-ventional farming. Some companies offer micro-credit financing.

Consultants and SuppliersSchaduf Urban Microfarms www.schaduf.comGarden Tower Project https://www.facebook.com/Gtp.eg?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser

BEE HIVING Bee hiving is not only a great way to produce your own honey, it also active-ly contributes to biodiversity and can be an additional attraction for your guests. On top of that it is low-maintenance. The beehives only need to be checked on about once a month. The Ministry of Agriculture offers starters

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kits for only 150 EGP and associations like Nawaya offer workshops.

Consultants and SuppliersNawayahttp://nawayaegypt.org

FISHING If you want to put fish and meat on the menu, make sure you know where it comes from. Avoid fish from aquacultures. Local fishermen should provide the fish and you should ensure that their fishing techniques are limiting the catch to what lands on the plate. Offering your guests to join the fishermen on their trip can be a great adventure for them and help to better under-stand where their food is coming from.

Consultants and SuppliersBustan Aquaponicshttps://www.facebook.com/bustanaquaponics

POULTRY Keeping doves is an Egyptian tradition with according dove cotes con-structed either from mud or, if placed on top of buildings, from wood. Simi-lar structures are also installed to raise chicken, who of course also provide eggs. Both offer a way of providing poultry for traditional local dishes from

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your own source. Check Begawi chicken for a special Egyptian breed: “Bega-wi chicken eggs, meat and day-old chicks can be found at local markets, but also continue to be raised by families for personal consumption. However, because the breed does not provide a large amount of meat compared to other breeds, and gives smaller egg, it is not considered economically viable in a market that increasingly features larger hybrid breeds. Exotic breeds, though, require higher inputs in terms of feed and management compared to the locally adapted Begawi chickens, and so in addition to protecting biodiversity, saving this breed would create a good opportunity for rural poultry farmers.”

Consultants and SuppliersNawayahttp://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/ark/details/1869/begawi-chicken#.VLtbwRYnVSU

CROWD-FUNDING ORGANIC FARMINGYour ecolodge is a potential platform to promote organic farming. Crowd funding is one possible way to invite individuals or groups to contribute in raising the necessary fund. The monetary contributions would provide the necessary expenses for organic farming practices which in turn may gen-erate revenues for the contributors after selling the harvested products.

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Habiba Community – Nuwaiba launched the Sinai Palm Date Foundation. Maged El Said, the founder, has a vision to plant thousands of productive Medjool date palm trees across Nuweiba and the rest of Sinai. So far, the trial has been successful with delicious dates being grown and sold at local farmers markets in the region – proving to people that date farming can become a valuable resource to the community.

Consultants and SuppliersHabiba Organic Farmhttp://www.habibaorganicfarm.com


4. LABOUR

LOCAL HIRING POLICY THROUGHOUT THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPER-ATION PHASE OF YOUR LODGEEcotourism aims to strengthen the local community, therefore a local hiring policy is a given. During the construction phase, find local expert craftsmen. If these are not available and you bring in people from further away, con-sider how this often lost local building expertise can be passed on to local construction workers. During the operation phase: Involve locals not only as staff, but also as tour guides, craftsmen, builders, drivers, etc.

Consultants and SuppliersFor expertise in the field contact the Egyptian Earth Construction Associa-tion https://www.facebook.com/EECAtrainingunit Kayan Community Builders

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS / MANAGEMENT TRAINING COURSES Send staff to externally organized training courses; ecotourism manage-ment planning (EMP), Ecolodge Environmental Policy (EEP), etc. or train them yourself after having participated in these courses. They can be de-veloped and conducted by experienced staff, i.e. checklist of environmental aspects

Consultants and SuppliersEcoconserv http://www.ecoconserv.com/

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Egypt National Cleaner Production Center (ENCPC)http://www.encpc.org/en/Enviro-Civec - http://www.envirocivec.com/Systems & Total Quality (TOTAL)http://www.total.com.eg

SAFETY, FIRST AID, AND HYGIENEAs many eco-lodges are in remote places, it is mandatory to be able to provide first aid, so be sure to have trained staff. Safety and hygiene are crucial to provide a healthy and comfortable environment. Talk to your local authorities to ensure that an ambulance is located no less than 10 minutes from your lodge.

Consultants and SuppliersThe Egyptian Red Crescent conducts excellent first aid trainings http://www.egyptianrc.org/RedCrescent/HomeBureau Veritas Quality International (BVQI) is a service company special-izing in QHSE management (quality,health, safety and environment) and social accountability offering an extensive range of technical services and solutions in the fields of certification, conformity assessment, consulting and training a.o. in the field of Health & Safety. http://www.bureauveritas.com/wps/wcm/connect/bv_com/Group/Home/Worldwide-Locations/Middle_East/Egypt


SGS (Société Générale de Surveillance) provides inspection, verification, testing and certification services.http://www.sgs.com.eg/ar-AE

COMMUNICATION SKILLS Of course, not all staff needs to speak English, but if you are expecting in-ternational tourists, ensure an English speaking team at the reception and in the restaurant. Also think about language training. You can, for example, enroll with WWOOF – World Wide Opportunities for organic farming (or similar websites). This way you can hire international volunteers, who can help you plant, while at the same time enhancing the language skills of your employees.

ENCOURAGE DRESSING IN REGIONAL STYLESDressing in local attire is a beautiful way of conveying culture. A galabeya is also a garment that suits the climate of Egypt. It’s baggy cut naturally cools the body as it allows any breeze to circulate.

SETTING WORKING HOURS/LEAVESEnsure that your team has clearly defined working hours and leaves. By national standards this implies five eight-hour working days and 21 days of annual leave in adddition to national holidays.

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PROVIDE JOBS FOR WOMENConsider how women can work at the ecolodge as managers,accountants, in charge of guest relations, etc. Alsosee if you can offer jobs from home for more traditional skills such as making and selling crafts, cooking. Maybe the women can alsogive cooking, sewing, or other classes.

VOLUNTEERING Working with volunteers is a great way of involving young and inspired peo-ple. Set a minimum time frame to ensure the training time does not dom-inate the actual working phase. There are many international volunteering platforms and of course you can also post openings on your own website.

Consultants and SuppliersBetter Placewww.betterplace.orgGround Work Opportunitieswww.groundworkopportunities.org/Global Volunteering Networkwww.globalvolunteernetwork.orgVolunteer Matchwww.volunteermatch.org

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5. ENGAGE LOCAL COMMUNITIES

OPEN-DOOR POLICYEven if there is a gate and a guard, ensure an open environment for all as much as possible. This may e.g. imply the right of passage. The Desert Lodge is applying the open door policy for inhabitants of the village. This way they ensure a learning experience not only for their guests but the villagers alike.

AIM TO CREATE SYNERGIES IN INFRASTRUCTUREConsider how systems may be expanded to serve the community as a whole, for example infrastructure such as constructed wetlands, solid waste management, water treatment, etc. In remote areas or smaller vil-lages, infrastructural nets are often not a given. This offers ample opportu-nities to introduce decentralized green infrastructure that is often cheaper than conventional systems. Sharing costs with the community and finding productive ways of involving the local government ideally creates a win-win situation for all.

For example, when collected, separated and cleaned, garbage becomes a product to be sold. If not in place already, consider how such a cycle can be installed beyond the scale of your lodge. This will produce another source of income for the community and ensure a clean environment (see 6. Recycle Anorganic Waste As A Raw Material).

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Examplary projects on how to recycle anorganic waste: Basata Ecolodge Nuweiba www.basata.comHaram City Cairo www.orascomhc.com/articles.aspx?CategoryId=16Together EGwww.together-eg.com

Roughly estimated costs of Haram City Cairo recycling plant including ma-chine to produce plastic bags from granulate roughly around 50,000 EUR.

Also decentralized ecological waste water treatment systems consisting of a treatment unit (constructed wetland), piping network, lifting station(s), construction management cost, have been installed successfully in the villages Awlad Sheikh Yacub, Beni Suef serving 5000 inhabitants with construction costs of EGP 2.4 million and in Abdelkawy Shaitan, Fayoum serving 2500 inhabitants with construction costs of EGP 837 000 by the Together Association with the following economic model:

Source: GIZ


SALE OF LOCAL PRODUCTS AND HANDCRAFTSTravelers like to take back local products and handcrafts as souvenirs. Sell them at the lodge or direct visitors to local workshops and markets. This could also be communicated via your website. The Ayadi Masriya shop in Siwa is an ex-ample of a good collaboration. Hawyet Siwa is operating the shop for Ayadi Masriya.

Consultants and SuppliersYadaweya http://yadaweya.com/Ayadi Masreyahttps://www.facebook.com/AyadiMasreyawww.undeadcrafts.com is an example on how to introduce a variety of crafts in the area to visitors.

OFFER WORKSHOPS FOR TOURISTS BY THE COMMUNITY Workshops could include learning how to cook local cuisine, making hand-crafts, learning how to ride, music, dancing, etc. and produce an additional source of income.

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ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATIONShare your knowledge and create a learning environment for all. Environ-mental Education is crucial to build awareness of the pressing issues sur-rounding the state of environmental degradation and what is to be done today to ensure the sustainability of our environment for the future.Environmental Education can take place on three levels: For your guests,for your staff, and for the local community that you are a part of. Your website may communicate your ecological strategies to your guests, but think of ways how to reach the local community to enable environmental awareness to expand. Tourism is seasonal, there will be phases with fewer guests offering ample time for educational activities.

Creating awareness for the bigger picture, for example of the locally to be expected impacts of climate change is to a certain degree a strictly edu-cational task and may be hard to communicate without a strategy on the ground. A great way to convey the advantages of ecologically sound living is to show of course the economic incentives at hand, for example by recy-cling and selling anorganic waste. More difficult to convey, but often more relevant, are economic impacts in the long-term such as the advantages of organic agriculture. Many of these topics demand knowledge that you and your staff may not have. Involve experts. Universities and NGOs working in the field will gladly support you with sharing knowledge on specific topics.

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As an ecolodge, you can provide a platform and become a pilot. Maybe your lodge becomes a place of exchange and demonstration where the lo-cal community can look at green infrastructure at work such as for example a solar water heater, pv panels or water filtration. Certain companies may be interested to install a demonstration unit if you are able to ensure its exposure to the local community as a potential market.

Further, by involving the youth in activities such as garbage collection events, you can be sure not only to reach the families, but also to start today to involve the next generation.

Consultants and SuppliersDakhla Desert Lodge (where the owners have installed a waste collection plant for the whole oasis and organize garbage picking days in the village with school children)http://desertlodge.net/german/oasis/dakhla/ RISE Research Institute for Sustainable Environment (developed a sys-tem of waste collection bins)www.aucegypt.edu/sustainability/riseMarsa Nakari Lodge together with the local NGO HEPCA have set up an impressive solid waste management system and actively ask their guests to participate in environmental efforts


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http://www.redsea-divingsafari.com/ http://www.hepca.org/ Earth Keepers (a platform for environmental activists and those who have green considerations)https://www.facebook.com/pages/Earth-KeepersDayma (offer youth rich experiential travel around Egypt)http://dayma.org/

ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH ON THE PREMISESProvide activities for the local kids if these are not given, for example teach-ing them how to swim. Since the education system in Egypt is very bad, lodges may also provide language courses, incorporate youths in green construction activties or courses on how to make handcrafts, such as products from recycled goods.

LEARNING FROM…Community-based development is not an easy process. Learning from other eco-lodges regarding specific activities may spare you from re-peating mistakes (see Featherlight Tourist Guide for the vast number of ecolodges and their current strategies some of which we already refer to in this manual).

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6. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

R E D U C E , R E U S E , R E C Y C L E

REDUCE WASTEThe most effective way to lower our adverse environmental impact re-mains reduction and of course this applies to solid waste. Try to avoid single packaging. Also think about buying products that can be stored in larger quantities. Minimize products that are packaged by using crates, cotton bags, etc.

HOW TO AVOID PLASTIC BOTTLESPET bottles can be exchanged for reusable glass bottles that are filled with filtered tap water. The process of manufacturing 1 liter of bottled water requires an estimated 3 liters of feed water and an oil consumption equiv-alent to 1/4 liter of oil (Pacific Institute). By switching from plastic-bottled water to glass bottles filled with filtered tap water, vast amounts of PET bottles can be avoided, and transportation costs and CO2 emissions are minimized.

Tap water can be filtered with high-tech-filters and offered to guests in glass bottles for drinking. To ensure adequate hygiene, make sure that the glass bottles and caps are cleaned with hot water.

For example the Minlo water filter system consists of three purifying stages responsible to filter your water from sand, slit, rust, small impurities, chlo-rine and gases and can provide up to 500 l per day:

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1. A high quality 5.0 micron pp polypropylene cartridge that filters out sand, slit, rust and small impurities or insects, acting as screening pro-cess.

2. A high quality gac “granulated active carbon” cartridge which aims at filtering out and reducing chlorine levels.

3. A high quality cto “ chlorine, taste & odor” cartridge, consisting of a carbon block which aims at further reductions of chlorine levels, organic gases and unwanted water taste, ensuring the filtration of the second stage

Three further steps can be added to further reduce the solids and improve the taste and a sixth stage which deals with minerals and pH adjustments. The filter system can be attached to any tap water source.

Consultants and Supplierswww.wikihow.com/Choose-a-Home-Water-FilterMinlo offers the filter systems described abovewww.minlo.comGreen Tec Egypt (offers innovative green technologies from automated re-cycling machines to fuel produced from shredded and dehydrated waste)http://www.greentecegypt.com/Ezazty (a StartUp that aspires to encourage people to utilize their own


resources, making the best usage of plastic bottles)https://www.facebook.com/Ezazty.fp

SEPARATE ORGANIC AND ANORGANIC WASTE AND PROVIDE ACCORD-ING BINS ON SITEPlastics, glass, paper and metals are recyclables that can be sorted, cleaned and sold in Egypt. By individually separating them from organic waste on site their reuse / sale as a resource still relies on an existing sol-id waste management system on the local or regional scale. Many lodges have initiated to install SWM systems that were not in place before.

Consultants and SuppliersRISE Unit at the American University in Cairo (developed a systems of bins to separate waste)www.aucegypt.edu/sustainability/rise Egypt Collects (offers training programs on recycling and collects recycable products in Cairo. With their income generted from waste they support cancer patients) http://www.egyptcollects.org/Green Tec (offers different technologies to turn waste into resources) http://www.greentecegypt.com/

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FEED ORGANIC WASTE TO ANIMALS Most organic waste can be fed to animals. This especially accounts for left-over food from the restaurant.

COMPOST ORGANIC WASTE TO PRODUCE NATURAL FERTILIZERComposting involves the decomposition of organic waste to produce nat-ural fertilizer. Composting diverts as much as 30% of waste away from the garbage can. It is a simple way to add nutrient-rich humus which fuels plant growth and restores vitality to depleted soil. It’s also free, easy to make and good for the environment. Microscopic organisms in compost aerate the soil, break down organic material for plant use and ward off plant disease.

Organic waste and excess food can be fed to animals. The waste from the animals can then be used as a natural fertilizer for the plants and can also become a component in local building materials. Do not include animal manures in compost that will be used on food crops. Do not compost meat, bones or fish scraps (they will attract pests), perennial weeds (they can be spread with the compost) or diseased plants. Certain peels and rinds may contain pesticide residue, and should be kept out of the compost. Sawdust may be added to the compost, but should be mixed or scattered thinly to avoid clumping. A layer of garden soil helps to cover odors, and micro-or-ganisms in the soil will accelerate the composting process.

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Material Carbon/Nitrogen Info

Table Scraps Nitrogen Add with dry carbon itemsFruit & vegetable scraps Nitrogen Add with dry carbon itemsEggshells Neutral Best when crushedLeaves Carbon Leaves break down faster when shreddedGrass clippings Nitrogen Add in thin layers so they don't mat into clumpsHarden plants -- Use disease-free plants onlyGarden weeds Nitrogen Only use weeds which have not gone to seedShrub prunings Carbon Woody prunings are slow to break downStraw or hay Carbon Straw is best; hay (with seeds) is less idealGreen comfrey leaves Nitrogen Excellent compost 'activator'Flowers, cuttings Nitrogen Chop up any long woody stemsSeaweed and kelp Nitrogen Apply in thin layers; good source for trace mineralsWood ash Carbon Only use ash from clean materials; sprinkle lightlyChicken manure Nitrogen Excellent compost 'activator'Coffee grounds Nitrogen Filters may also be includedTea leaves Nitrogen Loose or in bagsNewspaper Carbon Avoid using glossy paper and colored inksShredded paper Carbon Avoid using glossy paper and colored inksCardboard Carbon Shred material to avoid mattingCorn cobs, stalks Carbon Slow to decompose; best if chopped upDryer lint Carbon Best if from natural fibersSawdust pellets Carbon High carbon levels; add in layers to avoid clumpingWood chips / pellets Carbon High carbon levels; use sparingly

Source: http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html

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Consultants and SuppliersBasata (remaining non-recyclable components are disposed of in a sani-tary landfill while the organic waste is carried to suitable sites for the Bed-ouin’s livestock to feed on. A future project is the inclusion of a fertilizer plant for all organic waste)www.basata.comDreamland Ecostation (creates chemical free and bio-positive compost)www.facebook.com/ecostation.dreamlandNawaya (offers training courses, workshops and events)http://nawayaegypt.org/

RECYCLE ANORGANIC WASTE AS A RAW MATERIALOrganizing the collection and sale of anorganic waste can again provide jobs for the local community. Recycling anorganic waste does not only en-sure a cleaner environment, it also provides a source of income.

All recyclable materials (non-organic waste) such as plastics, metals, paper and glass can be collected separately on site. The cleaner the garbage is when going to the bin the better: it avoids flies and makes further sorting easier. The separated waste is then brought to a central solid waste collec-tion and transfer hub for further sorting and cleaning. Currently, all waste is then brought to Cairo, where it is either sold as a good or fed to a plastic crusher machine that crushes containers into small particles ready for pel-

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letizing to be used later in plastic recycled products.Central warehouses to collect the garbage should be equipped with a manual press and perforation to enable compaction.

Collaborations with the government and for example the Social Develop-ment Fund (SDF) have been established, but also privates like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have supported the development of solid waste management systems that promote waste as a resource and integrate the urban poor in the management of municipal waste services.

Consultants and SuppliersFor more information on solid waste management systems on the local and regional scale that have been set up by other Egyptian eco-lodges see www.hemaya.org and www.desertlodge.netSpirit of Youth Cairo (for prices on recycled plastics, glass, metals and paper)http://soyzabaleen.blogspot.comHEPCA (managing a majority of the solid waste of the Egyptian Red Sea, while simultaneously spreading awareness about what we can do as indi-viduals)http://www.hepca.org/conservation/solid-waste/Recyclobekia is an electronic waste recycling company based in Egypt and operating throughout the MENA Regionhttp://www.recyclobekia.com/


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Green Tec (offers different technologies to turn waste into resources)http://www.greentecegypt.com/

RECYCLE WASTE IN NEW PRODUCTS ON SITEOf course it is also possible to immediately recycle certain products by turning them into new objects, for example out of folded paper. When filled with sand, PET bottles can be used as building material. They are especially suitable for regions where termites pose a problem, for example in Upper Egypt. Recycling materials is not only a way of reducing waste and even pollution, but also be a way of promoting crafts that are prone to be lost. At Dakhla Lodge instead of burning the rice cuttings, they are reviving the craft of making 7aseer carpets from it.

Consultants and SuppliersGezazyhttps://www.facebook.com/Gezazy?ref=ts&fref=tsEzaztyhttps://www.facebook.com/Ezazty.fp/timeline

COMMUNICATE REDUCTION AND SEPARATION OF WASTE TO GUESTS AND EMPLOYEESWaste separation is not self-understood. Different coloured baskets can already give a clue, a picture or a text can also help. Whereas employees

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should follow clear regulations, guests need to be treated more sensitively. Separating waste should be made easy.

MAKE SURE THAT FLIES, RODENTS, ETC. STAY AWAY WITHOUT RELYING ON CHEMICALSThere are many zero to low-cost measures to create a comfortable en-vironment without relying on toxic chemicals. Ants do not like cinnamon. Garbage can be raised from the ground to avoid it from being scavenged by certain animals. Flies do not like seeing their reflection in transparent plastic bags filled with water. Compost piles that attract fruit flies can be covered with a layer of garden clippings. Calcium and lemon may also help to keep flies away see http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html

ORGANIZE WASTE COLLECTION EVENTS WITH GUESTS AND COMMU-NITYCollecting garbage as an event is a great way to have an immediate impact as the difference is obvious.


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2. ENERGY

REDUCING WATER USEEgypt is facing severe water scarcity and this will only increase. As an arid country where the desert makes up 95% of the land mass and the Nile is the primary and highly contested source of water by many, water conser-vation is key and as of yet largely untapped. The average water use of a conventional hotel guest is up to 500 l / day. This offers ample opportuni-ties to save water.

Fresh water is usually drinking water and should be used as conservatively as possible. Two great ways of saving water is to replace fresh water with grey water (see following pages), salt or even brine water where possible. Brine water for example can be used to wash dishes, to flush the toilets and for construction work. In the kitchen fresh water is needed for cooking and rinsing the dishes and in the bathrooms for showering and washing. Washing dishes before finally rinsing them with fresh water can be done with water of a lesser quality in combination with mechanical techniques such as sand. Toilets do not need to be flushed with drinking water either.Providing linen and towels in less sensitive colours than white avoids un-necessary changing and the use of bleach. Guests can also bring their own linen and towels to reduce the use of water and detergent on site. Of course setting regulations for the staff and communicating the specific water cycle to guests is necessary to ensure the conservation of water.

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Best PracticeBasata Camp Nuweiba has been able to reduce their guest’s average use to 70 liters/day, compared to an average of 500 liters per guest per day at most conventional hotels.www.basata.com

GREYWATER RECYCLING Greywater includes all wastewater except water from toilets. This includes dish, sink and laundry water and makes up around 50-80% of wastewa-ter and may be used for landscape irrigation and other uses. Plants thrive on used water containing small bits of compost. Greywater is purified to a spectacularly high degree in the upper, biologically most active part of the soil. Specifically within the Egyptian context, greywater also enables landscaping in arid contexts where water is ussually not available for plant growth and reclaims nutrients in the Nile valley that is no longer inundated seasonally.

Important preconditions for the recycling of greywater is the accessibility of drainwater pipes and active user involvement. Discharge greywater under-ground or into mulch basins. Greywater must pass slowly through healthy topsoil for natural purification to occur. Use the grey water within 24 hours to avoid bacteria build-up. The systems capacity needs to be defined and greywater should be divertable to the conventional septic tank in case of

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excess production or in case toxins are used. Design the greywater sys-tem so that no contact takes place before purification. Water that was used to launder soiled diapers should not be used. To avoid pollution keep a distance of at least 15 m to lakes and creeks and make sure to keep a distance to wells. Do not recycle greywater through sprinklers to avoid breathing in microorganisms.

Greywater use is best incorporated during the design phase, to incorpo-rate the topography, make drain pipes accessible, separate greywater and blackwater types, etc. To install a flexible system that can switch between greywater and septic tank use demands for a very qualified plumber. On a sketch of your site, note the liters available from the different fixtures and the path of plumbing and where in your open area the water should dis-pose to. To avoid overload of the soil or sensitive plants, define capacities and adjust freshwater irrigation if needed. There are numerous systems of greywater recycling and may be as basic as bucketing or running a garden-hose from the bathroom. The most recommended system is the install-ment of a branched drain to basins / leachfields, constructed wetlands are also a possibility.

Best practice Basata, NuweibaWastewater is divided into grey water and black water. Grey water is used

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in irrigating non-edible, endemic palm trees and plants. The salty black wa-ter goes into sealed septic tanks and is then transferred to Nuweiba’s wa-ter treatment plant. See www.basata.com

Daklha Desert LodgeIn Dakhla the overflow of the pool, fed by the lodge’s own well, feeds into a canal system that irrigates the organic farms. See www.desertlodge.net/ecology/water/

Consultants and SuppliersEgyptian Earth Construction Association (EECA) http://www.cuipcairo.org/en/directory/eeca-egyptian-earth-construc-tion-association

Piping Suppliers: Banninger, Aquatherm, Almunif Pipe, TechniTherm, Rigo-egypt, GM, Wateks, ERA, EXIMCO

For a more detailed read see:www.greywateraction.orgLudwig, A. (2000). Create an Oasis with Greywater. Oasis Designsee www.oasisdesign.net


CONSTRUCTED WETLANDSConstructed wetlands serve as an alternative to conventional sewage sys-tems. They may be designed with sub-surface water levels hidden under gravel and covered by plants when fed by waste water. Constructed wet-lands can treat both greywater from the bath and kitchen, and blackwater from toilets. The advantage of constructed wetlands in comparison to con-ventional technologies are the low operating costs due to the lower energy demand and the lower need for maintenance. Energy is only needed for pumping if a natural slope is missing and maintenance is limited to emp-tying the sedimentation tank if applicable, once a year and harvesting the plants.

Constructed wetlands are a water cleansing plants. Plants extract oxy-gen though the roots while absorbing nutrients. Wetlands are defined by a complicated function of temperature, evapotranspiration, rainfall, influent volume and biological oxygen demand (ensuring how much compost is in the water). If blackwater is to be treated, the area demand is high (about 5 sqm per person). If only greywater from bath and kitchen is to be treated, the needed area for a constructed wetland is already much smaller (about 2 sqm per person). A simplified filter with a sedimentation tank can also be used. If only bathroom greywater is to be treated, a simplified filter without a sedimentation tank can be used.

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A well-designed system can have a life span of more than 20 years. Then the filter material has to be cleaned or changed. In the design phase, the amount of space and the type of sand needed have to be chosen carefully in order to prevent the filter from clogging, resulting in very high mainte-nance costs. The cost and area needed depend on the type of wastewater treated.

Consultants and SuppliersIn Egypt, the NGO Together Association has developed constructed wet-land systems in smaller villages in Upper Egypt see www.together-eg.com

For three-day design training workshops in Cairo contact:Egyptian Earth Construction Association (EECA) www.facebook.com/EECAtrainingunit

For different systems see:www.constructedwetlands.net

For floating wetlands see:www.floatingislandinternational.com


COMPOST TOILETSComposting toilets used in combination with greywater systems, prom-ises massive reduction in water use, recycling of all nutrients and water. Composting consists of the biological breakdown of solid organic matter to produce a humic substance (compost) which is valable as a fertilizer and soil conditioner. Excrete may be composted with ashes, straw, and other vegetable waste.

How to build a compost toilet:Building a compost toilet starts with the collection device, and ends with the composting device designed to make fertilized dirt. Cover material can be any vegetable clippings , saw dust, ashes, etc. You can build your own com-post bin with a 200 liter gallon drum (with aeration holes) by using a stack of tires with the sidewalls cut out, pallets, etc. or pile it on open ground.

How to operate a compost toilet:The traditional method of composting is to pile vegetable waste with an-imal manure and nightsoil or sludge on open ground. The material then needs to be turned regularly to maintain anaerobic conditions.

Put about 10 cm in the bottom of the bucket before use to act as a liquid absorbent and after every deposit, cover with another 3 cm or so. When the bucket is about 3/4 full, take it outdoors and dump it into your compost

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bin. Again, you can cover with dry materials, this time garden cuttings, to eliminate smells and flies.

In a mild climate, the decomposting process (a combination of tempera-ture and time) will roughly take up to 1 year and should be isolated. It accel-erates with rising temperature. From this perspective and also from a point of water scarcity, it is an especially suitable system for Egypt. However, compost toilets are dry-toilet systems which may need to find combinato-ry systems for water cleaning.

For composting toilet systems see:http://greywateraction.org/content/about-composting-toilets

More information on different off-grid toilet systems:WHO (1992). A Guide to the Development of on-Site Sanitationhttp://who.int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/envsan/onsitesan.pd-f?ua=1

WATER CONDENSATION AND DESALINATIONDecentralized drinking water plants may be a great way to produce your own fresh water, especially when in remote areas. Two techniques that may be applicable are water condensation using the sun and water desali-nation when near the sea. Water condensation is a technique where water

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changes its state from water vapor to liquid water when in contact with any surface. As such it can produce drinking water from water sources of lesser quality. Water desalination produces fresh water and brine water in a ratio of 1:4.

Water condensation Man-made solar distillation is a 150-year-old technology that draws inspi-ration from nature’s own processes. Any water source (dirty, salt, brakisch, polluted, etc.) can be evaporated and condensed to create the very clean-est distilled water. Yet, the solar insolation per square metre in sunny re-gions is usually enough to create only two to four litres of distilled water each day. By reusing the initial energy through multiple evaporation/con-densation through the stages efficiency increases and heat reservoirs en-able 24h production. The system can be connected to a grid and have individual meters for multiple users. The units size including solar collectors depends on the amount of water nedded and can be accomodated on the ground or roof. The solar collectors and the condensation units can of course also be in separate places.

DesalinationFresh water can also be made by desalinating salt water. As this technique produces the by-product of brine water (highly concentrated salt water) in a ratio of 1:4 this technique is only ecological as long as the brine water can

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be put to use, for example to flush toilets, for dish washing before rinsing with fresh water and for construction. The Basata Lodge on the Gulf of Ak-aba for example can produce up to 15 cubic meters per day while putting the 60 cubic meters of brine water to use. The used brine water also de-mands for a septic tank and a cleansing plant where this used brine water can then be treated.

Consultants and SuppliersWater condensation unit as described above:www.waterstillar.comWater desalination units applied:www.basata.com

STORMWATER HARVESTING“We ain’t dry. We just leakin’.”Janet Millington, Australian water-harvester and permaculture teacherEven if rain is rare in Egypt, storm water harvesting may provide enough drinking water for entire regions. The Bedouins have been collecting rain water for centuries. Think of ways how to do so on a small scale by setting up containments in case of rain or draining natural wadis into bigger stor-age tanks being as a community project.

Consultants and Suppliers

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Nile Water Research Centre, Al Qanater www.wrri.org.egTU Berlin El Gounahttp://www.campus-elgouna.tu-berlin.de/water/v-menu/department_of_water_engineering/

USE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SOAP AND DETERGENTS WHERE AVAILABLE OR MAKE YOUR OWN Plant and soil biocompatible cleaner is rarely available, but can be self-produced. • As a natural cleaner, distilled white vinegar is a very effective and a

diversely applicable option that is non-toxic. • Sand for dishes, even soil works in a pinch• Grass makes a brillo pad in combination with sand• Ashes cut grease• Soaproot, ceanothus, other local plants are a source of widecrafted soap• Lemon, orange peel cuts grease

For more information on environmentally friendly soap:http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/greywater-harvesting/greywa-ter-compatible-soaps-and-detergents/More recipes can be found here: http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/cleaning/all-natural-clean-ing-solutions http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/20-diy-green-cleaning-reci-

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pes-141129

WATER STOP FLUSH AND CONSERVING FIXTURESMake sure that your fittings are tight. Install water-saving taps that turn off after a few seconds, reduce the amount of water used for flushing toilets, use water more efficiently (for example banana shower by Nawaya), use the toilet flush water to wash hands before. For DIY directions: https://laecovillage.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/diy-toilet-top-hand-washing-sink/

Consultants and Suppliers Waffarly (offers windows sealing window strips or home isolation bags) http://www.waffar.ly/

DRIP IRRIGATIONDrip irrigation is a more effective method as it saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone through narrow tubes that deliver water directly to the base of the plant. It shoud not be fed with grey water as tubes may clog with compost particles.

Consultants and Suppliers Adritec – Arab Company for Drip Irrigation Technologyhttp://www.adritec.com/

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2. ENERGY8. NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION

ECOSYSTEM PROTECTION – ENHANCING BIODIVERSITYEgypt offers some of the most stunning wildlife experiences.From diving the coral reefs of the Red Sea and migratory bird watching in the Delta and all along the Nile to such spectacles as spotting crocodiles in Lake Nasser. It’s landscape and plant world is just as diverse and sets a perfect back-ground for ecotourism. Therefore the active protection of the native flora and fauna is a given. Think of ways how to protect ecohabitats and actively enhance biodiversity, for example by: • zoning breeding grounds• defining foot paths• replanting native plants• bee hiving• providing specific outlooks for bird watching• providing explanatory signs to visitors to stay out of certain areas• being aware of seasonal events • etc.

Become an expert for the flora and fauna around you and provide litera-ture. Your guests will be grateful! Also connect with international associa-tions who can support you, for example the world wildlife organization.The Marsa Nakari Ecolodge e.g. is giving marine life courses for tourists, This way they are raising their income, while providing valuable information for their guests.

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Consultants and Suppliers WWFhttp://www.worldwildlife.orgMarsa Nakari (actively involve their guests in their ecological efforts to pre-serve the Red Sea) http://www.marsa-nakari.org/

MAKE SILENCE A QUALITYWith increasing urbanization, silence is becoming a rare pleasure. Ensure that silence is a quality by limiting the soundscape of music, motors and other sounds to a minimum.

ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION Traveling in Egypt for the most part involves motorized transport by plane or car, but there are also north-south train connections and of course busses which alleviate the environmental impact in comparison to driving alone. To encourage the most ecological ways to move, provide your guests with time tables and pick-up services and think of other incentives that may promote more ecological, but also often more uncomfortable ways of traveling.

Many major airlines offer CO2 emissions compensation and according cal-culators. Offer your guests the service of compensating for their flights

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CO2 emissions on site. Check ongoing projects for examples on how to communicate such initiatives:https://www.justdiggit.org/en/https://www.flysas.com/de/travel-info/other/co2-compensation/

On a local scale:Encourage both staff and visitors to use public transport to and from the ecolodge where possible, otherwise carpool. Alternative means of trans-portation could potentially reduce traffic congestion, air pollution and en-ergy consumption in addition to building social networks in the case of car-pooling.

On how to organize car sharing see Bus pooling and Tawseela who are cur-retnly operating in Cairo:http://www.bus-pooling.com/http://tawseela.net/

Promote walking, cycling, riding, and sailing on site and in vicinity by offer-ing the appropriate facilities such as shaded paths, bicycles, etc. Provide designated areas to leave cars and other motorized vehicles. Often times cycling and riding is considered a recreational activity, but it is ideally a CO2 emissions-free mode of transportation at a much more sensible speed. Make sure horses, camels and bicycles are available for your guests also for excursions to the surroundings.

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Consultants and SuppliersAin Bicycles offer Egyptian made customized bikes:www.facebook.com/ainbicyclesCheck Cycle Egypt on ow to promote cycling in Egypt, http://www.cycle-egypt.com/

COMMUNICATIONProvide your guests with the necessary information in an enjoyable way. Make it intriguing for guests to understand the concepts behind your eco-logical approach. Think about working with artists and graphic designers or arts and graphic design students to visualize it.

PROVIDE FACILITIES TO COLLECT GARBAGE Beyond the actual site of the lodge, garbage collection bins should also be available in more remote areas. Initiating garbage collection days involving tour-ists and locals may reduce the increasing spreading of garbage by the wind.

PROMOTE NATURAL BEAUTYOften a view and a quiet place to enjoy it are all that is needed. Less is of-ten more: Instead of planning activities and according facilities, ensure that there are areas that allow for quiet meditation as well as places where the views can be enjoyed without being silent. Think of ways to address all our senses by not just including visuals, but also including smells, sounds, tastes.

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Landscape architecture offers many ways to direct a view to something beautiful and block views and buffer sound emissions.

Sun rise and sun sets are a given. Think of where the guests can best enjoy it.

Looking at the night stars is often one of the most stunning experiences. Ensure that artificial lighting is not reducing visibility. Provide star maps for your guests.

Little details like leaving a fly broom can make places so much more enjoy-able. A bed under the open sky needs a mosquito net.

Building a bench or an outlook post or putting a hammock in just the right place offers serenity to the visitor. Before building something new, see what you find on site. Maybe there is already a cliff or a rock formation that offers the perfect meditation space.

8. NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION

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1. Japan Ecolodge Association (2012). Environmentally Sustainable Accommodations - International Standard Checklist2. Lao National Tourism Administration - Asian Development Bank (2005). Designing And Operating An Ecolodge In The Lao Pdr - Suggestions For Local And International Investors. Mekong Tourism Development Project3. A. Drumm and A. Moore (2002). Ecotourism Development - A Manual for Conser vation Planners and Managers Volume l: An Introduction to Ecotourism Planning. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia, USA4. Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) (2008). Lodge Environ-ment Manual - A guide to managing environmental risk andmonitoring environmental performance. Jindabyne NSW, Australia5. Greening the WSSD initiative (2003). Responsible Tourism Handbook – A Guide For Good Practice For Tourism Operators. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). South Africa 6. Responsible Tourism Tansania. Handbook for RTTZ7. H. Metha (2005). Planning, Design and Construction Guidelines for Desert Ecolodg-es. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia8. Chemonics International (2008). LIFE Red Sea Project - Enhancing Sustainable Tourism in the Southern Red Sea Region of Egypt Part 5: Manual for Ecolodge Plan-ning, Design, and Operation. USAID10. Ludwig, A. (2002). Clean, Green & Wild: Green Cleaning in the Wilderness. Oasis Design

REFERENCES


Winner of Best Ecolodge and the first medal for ecotourism in Egypt In 2005 by Min-istry of Tourism / The Best Ecolodge international award by German Tour Operators 2007 & Hospitality Award 2011 Best Initiative in Sustainable Development & CSR.President: A. H. MoussaManaging Director: Ahmed MoussaSenior Administrator: Natalie Kyriazi

DESERT ECOLODGE - DAKHLA OASIS

Why did you choose this specific spot / location for your ecolodge?Desert lodge started as a dream of an ecolodge that symbolizes the history and essence of the place . Thus, the location was planned on a hill to widen exposure to all local natural surroundings with a hot spring nearby, but also with proximity to the old El Qasr Village and local markets. Most of those visiting saw the lodge thinking it was a historic castle which was the impact intended.

Who was involved in the planning and construction phase and what was the main source of inspiration in terms of architectural motifs and materials?Engineer Khaled Atman, a prominent architect and Engineer Khaled Lotfy, a prominent Civil Engineer were at the core of the planning on the tech-nical side with Ahmed Moussa, The Expert on eco desert tourism, guiding them into creating a an un-matched resort for tourists that combined the essence of the history of the place with modern luxuries. They have de-veloped a conceptual design and transformed it into tender drawings which were constructed in a participatory manner using local construction material and labor. Those workers had precious experience using natural local mate-

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rials in constructing their homes with material such as mud, wood and palm leaves. Local labor was also involved in furnishing the ecolodge with items such as tables which were produced locally using on-site palm trees trunk.

Are local community members involved throughout operation phase as well?Almost all staff members were hired from neighboring communities and were all trained to meet international customer service standards, how-ever, keeping their local identity & culture via wearing traditional costumes.

Do you require English speaking labor only?No, only those working at reception and restaurant / café were required ability for basic communication in English.

Other than jobs, what other possible means can you offer to this group?Mrs. Ursina Ruegg, our Swiss Partner has been trying to develop direct con-tact with local people especially women. Her plan has been to correlate their needs and qualifications with the plans and targets of the ecolodge. Unfortunately, due to cultural considerations few have responded to her invitation to communicate.However, we were able to indirectly engage them by marketing some local products such as handicrafts, soap and dates by selling them at the bazaar inside the lodge but it still needed a lot of enhancement to meet the stan-dards of western tourists visiting the place.Natalie, the dynamic force and senior administrator of desert lodge, con-firms that regular open days are organized for environment activities such cleaning days of “ Al Qasr “ historical village in cooperation with local schools. The students, the main man-power potential for the future, are encour-


aged to be more engaged in their environment and are rewarded with ed-ucational awards for their contributions.

How do you cover your energy demands and are there any energy saving strategies applied?Desert lodge is the first “hotel” to feed in the national electricity grid by incorporating a solar system that produces 10 KW power covering approx-imately 50% of total consumption, yet planning to achieve 100% in the near future. The lodge is targeting to exceed total consumption not only to feed the grid to benefit the country but also to benefit from the current rate of LE 0.84 / KW which has been announced as the rate the government purchases power generated by renewable energy sources. In addition all rooms are supplied with solar water heaters.Several simple energy saving strategies are being implemented such as using fans only instead of AC, installing power saving lamps and candles. Besides, we raise visitors’ awareness through a simplified manual to save energy whenever possible. We initially monitored our consumption rates which allowed us to plan efficiently to cover consumption.

Do you offer local food?Yes, mainly organic agricultural products which usually fulfills guests’ need, however, in high seasons, we purchase from near-by markets which still supports local economy.

Did you already apply a solid waste management plan?We aim to reduce solid wastes. So plastic bottles and metal cans are prohib-ited. Instead, fresh filtered water and juices are offered in glass containers.

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During the last two years, in cooperation with SDC SWISS Agency for De-velopment and Population; a landfill near to the lodge has been devel-oped where all solid wastes of the village is collected, sorted and manually packed to be then transferred to another city to be recycled.

From your experience what are the main potentials of ecotourism?Ecotourism does offer intensive job opportunities in comparison to conven-tional tourism industry. In addition to providing environmental conservation benefits in terms of lessening CO2 emissions (carbon print) and investing in natural resources such as solar energy which has long term benefits to the country as a whole.

And what are the main challenges you are facing?Mainly quality of handicrafts, local communities should be supported by governmental and NGO’s in terms of professional training to achieve a min-imal quality standards, that will allow exporting these precious & unique handicrafts. A good reference to us would be Tunisia and Morocco who have succeeded in exporting products that match western quality stan-dards.

What is your advice for those willing to initiate an ecolodge?Artistically represent your culture and market Egypt as a potential spot for ecotourism. Investors shall invest in diverse locations and destinations and map them on international publications and highlight them conferences.


Founder: Maged El Said

HABIBA COMMUNITY - NUWEIBA

What type of construction system and materials were used to build up Habiba Lodge?Initially the first few units were built using typical building materials to those in urban contexts, i.e. concrete structure and conventional red bricks for external and internal walls. We have also wood and tents on the lodge plus a bedouin salon decorated and built only by stones and wood including a library and most of the Bedouin tools used during daily life .

What is the primary resource for energy and do you have alternative re-newable resources?The lodge is connected to the grid, and P.V panels are planned to be in-stalled in the near future but their prices are not affordable in relevance to revenues which declined after the revolution.

Do you grow your own food? Yes Habiba community is based on promoting agri-tourism, while the cur-rent farming activities include diverse types of vegetables, fruits, poultry and meat production. The farm is meant to examine the most appropriate types of organic cultivation that best suits the soil and weather conditions. Once an appropriate type of cultivation is chosen it is then subjected to research on possibilities of increasing its production capacity and even re-searching further the potentials of processing the agricultural products, i.e. value chain study.

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The whole experiment and research findings are then dismantled to local community, and even being presented to communities within different con-texts in order to benefit the widest audience possible.

In addition to the experimental intensions, the farm is currently providing more than 50% of food demand at the ecolodge.

Do you offer local community job opportunities?Indeed we offer a wide range of job opportunities, but the main focus of Habiba Community is transferring know-how knowledge of investing nat-ural resources as a priority rather than a job position during construction or operating phases. The main aim is spreading the initial concept of “a community living on existing resources with awareness of preserving them for future generations”.

How do you plan for knowledge transfer? Is there education institutions involved?As mentioned earlier our community is promoting agri-tourism, and we also offer edu-tourism including activities for school and university stu-dents as well as tourists, e.g. practical farming workshops. Habiba Commu-nity did cooperate with several both national and international universities and research institutes conducting research projects related to our region at Nuweiba. For instance, initiaing in cooperation with the Desert Research Center a research project addressing groundwater and wills, in order to develop a long term water management plan for the whole region. We also offer (in-site) workshops for visitors and/or interested individuals; currently initiating and running several ones such as:


• Camel riding school; course is 3 days 2 hours lecture and one hour train-ing) where you learn how to feed, load and ride a camel.• Basic survival skills; how to follow stars, fire without matches, what plants you touch and not, what to do if scorpion or snacks bites you etc.• After school learning center teaching community children through; art, music, painting, recycling, and environmental awareness.• Eco building with natural materials.• Diverse farming training programs.

What are current solid waste management strategies? All solid wastes are separated at the lodge, but due to shortage of appro-priate machines and infrastructure, it is then transferred to other cities as far as Cairo to get processed and recycled. In addition, we regularly invite neighboring school students to collect solid wastes at different areas within the region but unfortunately a professional service provider is missing in this context.

How do you communicate with local communities?All communications are based on personal good trust with Bedouins and their families, which is a key factor for any possible cooperation within this specific region.

What are main challenges faced to achieve the main aim of building a sus-tainable community at Nuweiba?Natural resources preservation needs a multi-dimensional strategy that could accommodate its dynamicity. And such developments are in need for diverse professional and educational institutions from different disciplines

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working together to develop an integrated holistic vision of the existing so-cio-economic, environmental and political limitations as well as potentials.

In addition to the institutional absence, achieving a sustainable community is quite challenging within a fragmented social structure of Bedouin com-munities where each tribe lives miles far from each other without direct contact. And thus, consensus building is a crucial factor to the success to achieve the main aim.

Imprint

Published by:Deutsche Gesellschaft fürInternationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Registered officesBonn and EshbornFriedrich-Ebert-Allee 4053113 Bonn, GermanyPhone: +49 228 44 60-0Fax: +49 228 44 60-17 66

Dag-Hammarskjöld-Weg 1-565760 EschbornPhone: +49 61 96 79-0Fax: +49 61 79-11 15Email: [email protected]: www.giz.de

Lead Authors:Cornelia Redeker, Hazem Fouad

Layout:Natalie El Assiouty

Place and Date of Publication:Cairo, March 2015

Items from named contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.


featherlightTravel Egypt on a light footprint

Featherlight EG – is all about traveling Egypt on a light footprint. It aims to promote and power a more environmentally friendly and socially inclusive way of traveling Egypt. Featherlight EG offers networking space, market-ing support, skill-development to tour operators, lodges, handicrafts pro-ducers and engaged NGOs. To make a difference, it also addresses the costumers: national and international tourists who want to travel Egypt on a light footprint. Featherlight EG evolved from a joint initiative of two GIZ programs* and community partners in various destinations in Egypt. Join us on this journey and let’s show the world that there’s a whole country to be explored. And the best, while exploring, you support Egyptian com-munities with all its treasures!#featherlightEG

*Private Sector Development Programme and Responsible & Inclusive Business Hub MENA

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